Case studies

The 300th recording

In September 2012, the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, in association with local radio station 666 ABC Canberra, hosted a competition to celebrate the recording of its 300th oral history interview. The competition asked listeners to submit recollections of their experiences of Old Parliament House, to win the opportunity to be the subject of the 300th recording.

The competition was regularly promoted on air by the ABC and online in the museum’s blog. These promotions raised community awareness of the Oral History Program.

A variety of fascinating submissions were received from individuals who had worked in the building when it was home to the Australian Parliament.

The successful listener was Quentin O’Keefe, who had worked as a casual bar assistant in the Members’ Bar in 1974. She recalled a memorable occasion on Budget night when the then prime minister, Gough Whitlam, joined a long line of people waiting for a beer:

… a man near the front of the bar said to me, ‘The Prime Minister should have a drink.’ I looked up because … You’re so busy doing what you’re doing, you’re not even looking at people really. I looked up, and about five or six people back from the bar was Gough Whitlam. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was supposed to do … I figured if he was in this mob of people, and this is Australia, then he could wait his turn. I said to this man, ‘The Prime Minister can wait his turn’, and Gough heard that and said something like, ‘Well said Comrade’ or ‘That’s right Comrade’ to me. I just smiled, and he laughed.

Such is community interest in the museum’s Oral History Program that a blog article commemorating the 300th recording attracted more than 150 comments on our website. The 300th recording was a significant milestone for the oral history collection, which has nearly trebled in size in the past six years.

Photo of OPH Historian Barry York conducting the 300th oral history interview, with Quentin O’Keefe.

OPH Historian Barry York conducts the 300th oral history interview, with Quentin O’Keefe. Photo: OPH Collection

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